Make Your Own: Ranch Dressing Mix

I love Ranch dressing. Really. A LOT. So much that I really try not to have large quantities in the house at any given time, because I will eat it with a SPOON, ok? And Ranch dip is even BETTER. But since I didn't want to store opened packets of dry Ranch mix, I made 2 cups of dressing when I opened a packet. Two cups is about a cup and a half too much for me to have laying around. Ahem. Plus, there’s the chemical problem. Have you ever READ the ingredients on a packet of dressing mix? Scary stuff.

So I poked around on the internet for a while, cobbled together a bunch of recipes, and came up with my own!

The Recipe:
Makes about 1 ½ cups mix

1 cup dry buttermilk (found in the baking aisle)
2 tsp salt*
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried minced onion
4 heaping tsp parsley
Optional mix-ins**:
2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp dill seed
*My original recipe called for 4 tsp of salt, but it was WAY too much. Start with 2 and add more as you see fit.
**Regarding the optional mix-ins: sometimes I add these to the finished dip. There isn’t actually any dill at ALL in packaged ranch mix though, so this is strictly a personal preference.

Combine buttermilk, salt, garlic powder, onion and parsley in a bowl. Store in a container in the refrigerator until ready to use. (Dry buttermilk will actually go bad once it’s been opened, so always store it in the fridge.)



To make dressing:
1 – 2 Tbs mix
1 cup milk
1 cup mayo
Combine thoroughly and chill.

To make dip:
1-2 Tbs mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayo
Optional mix-ins:
2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp dill seed
Combine thoroughly and chill.

What I Ate for Dinner - Old School Chicken Salad

I LOVE chicken salad. With lots of mayonnaise and celery and onions. I LOVE IT. But I have to admit that I don’t usually eat it on bread. My favorite way to eat it is spooned over a generous plate of cooked, chilled broccoli. I know, I know, it sounds weird. But it’s really, REALLY good, especially in the summer when it’s hot out, and the cool chicken salad and broccoli is a nice change from regular, lettuce-based salads.

The key here is to use LOTS of vegetables (well, lots for chicken salad, anyway) and REAL chicken, chopped. Don’t use canned chicken, although chopped pre-cooked chicken works just fine.

Yum.

The Recipe:

1 pound cooked chicken, chopped
6-8 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
5-7 large celery stalks, chopped
Mayo, salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Chill, and then serve over cooked, chilled broccoli.

FANTASTIC. Really. ;)